Development of a series of Dance Activities for Gross Motor Skills Development of children with Down syndrome

Abstract

This study was experimental research aimed at developing a dance movement therapy activity program to enhance gross motor skills in children with Down syndrome, and to investigate the effects of implementing such a program. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and consisted of two students with Down syndrome enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts program at Chiang Mai Rajabhat University. The findings were as follows: 1. The researcher successfully designed a series of activities by applying the principles of dance movement therapy, which promotes physical, emotional, and psychological development through creative movement. The program integrated movement elements from both Thai and international performing arts, with a particular emphasis on Thai classical dance, characterized by graceful and rhythmic movements that are conducive to gross motor development. Additionally, Thorndike’s Theory of Learning was incorporated into the design process, focusing on learning by doing, consistent repetition (Law of Exercise), and the association between stimulus and response (Law of Effect). The activity program consisted of 8 activities implemented over 8 weeks, with two sessions per week, totaling 16 sessions. Each session lasted 60 minutes and was divided into three phases:preparation (10 minutes), therapy (40 minutes), and conclusion (10 minutes). The research tools were validated by three experts using the Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) index and were rated at a high level of content validity.2. Children with Down syndrome demonstrated higher post-test scores than pre-test scores in gross motor development, indicating improvement in their development to a level that met the good criteria.